Northport father, son charged with trying to cover up early morning crash

NORTHPORT, Maine — Police said that they issued a father and son criminal charges over the weekend after failing to report an early morning crash on Route 1 that left one passenger injured.

Evan Drinkwater, 19, of Northport was the driver, according to Lt. Jason Trundy of the Waldo County Sheriff’s Office. Police believe that Drinkwater’s father, Chris Drinkwater, 51, also of Northport, helped remove the crashed vehicle from the accident scene and tried to conceal it.

“It was obviously not reported in a timely fashion,” Trundy said Tuesday.

According to the accident report at the sheriff’s office, the crash likely occurred around 3 a.m. Sunday, March 16, when Evan Drinkwater lost control on a mild curve near the Blue Goose. He was driving three people back from a gathering when the crash happened, Trundy said. The 2003 Subaru spun on the icy road and eventually hit a utility pole, according to the police report.

Story continues below advertisement.

Police first learned of the incident when they were called hours later by the mother of one of the passengers in the car, who said she was taking her daughter to the hospital because she had been involved in a motor vehicle accident.

Trundy said that he believed the passenger had suffered cuts and bruises during the accident, but no life-threatening injuries.

Police charged Chris Drinkwater with falsifying physical evidence. They charged Evan Drinkwater with failure to give notice of an accident by the quickest means, leaving the scene of a personal injury accident and for a seat-belt violation.

Trundy said that, according to state law, if a person is involved in a motor vehicle accident that results in vehicle damage worth more than $1,000, personal injury or damage to personal property, they must report that accident to law enforcement officials by the quickest means possible and stay at the scene until it can be investigated.